Lady&#39;s wearing apparel



Nov. 16, 1943. E. cADous LADYS WEARING APPAREL Filed Dec. 11, 1940INVENTOR- Eithev Cadous.

Patented Nov. 16, 1943 UNITED STATES" rATE T LADYS WEARING APPARELEsther Cations, New York, N, p Application December 11,-1s4o;seria1 No.369,550 1 Claim. (01; #227) garment retaining at all times a gracefuland tailored shape. i A l A further object of my invention is to providein such a garment a combination of elastic and inelastic areas in whichthe line of jointure follows a curved or broken line across the width ofthe garment, to provide a graceful and tailored shape without the needof pleats, tucks or gathers.

It is a further object of my invention toprovide waist and thighadjustability without the need for the gathers, tucks, pleats or othersurplus material in the garment, or theuse of hooks and eyes, buttonsand 'button holes, zippers or any other form of device found necessaryin the prior art to assure adjustabillty.

Another object of my invention is to'provide an adjustable garment whichreadily assumes a graceful appearance and readily gives a tailored,smooth and unpleated surface to the mid-section of the body. i L

A further object of myinvention is to provide in such a garment all theadvantages of a foundation girdle without the need of such a girdle asan additional item of wear.

Another object of my invention is to provide in such a garment togetherwith the advantages hereinabove set out, 'a' readily available novelelastic section to hold the article of attire inplace without theneed-of an additional belt.

A further object of my invention is to provide in such a garment meansfor abdominal support and for the contraction of other body portions.

My invention also has for its objects such other advantages ashereinafter are made to appear. i

To fully explain my invention I shall briefly refer to the disadvantagesfound in garments current in the art, andthe principle of my inventionwhich has made possible'the improvement which is its essence.

It is a disadvantage in garments, that when purchased, it is oftennecessary to cut and resew and to assure any measure of tailoredappearanc; It is necessary also to pleat, gather or tuck \the materialin the abdominal region to assure any measure of adjustability to thevarying g'irths of purchasers. These pleated, gathered or tuckedgarments tho styled togiveafinished appearance to the garment, do notgenerallyfind favorwith women wearers, the preference being for a smoothfitting fiat surfacedgarment about the abdominal andimid-sectionalregion of the body. l The use of a bandof elastic fabric tofor'mthe topportion of such garments and assure adjustability does'n'ot' solve theproblem, since a rectangular elastic band requires the cloth of thegarment along the line of jointure of both these areas, to be pleated,tucked or gathered to permit the inelastic area of the garment to expandto the" increased girth; The result is anunsightly, ungainly garmentlacking gracefulness in appear: ance." If theclothof' the garment werenot pleated, tu'ckedror gathered;'the strain of the increasedgirth's-would stretch the elastic portion, hut undulystrain and tear theinelastic portion.

'I have discovered that allot these disadvantages may be obviated, andan adjustable garment, attainingallof the objects heretofore set out,may be made byscutting the elastic area so as to provide a lineofjointure between the elastic and inelastic area of the garment followinga substantially curved or broken line across the width of the garment. rThe principle of this type of construction eliminates the need forunsightly pleats, tucks or. gathers,-hooks and eyes, buttons andbuttonholes, zippers, or similar devices, producing a'garmentwhichmoulds to the shape of the-icod'yand fits'gracefully upon the wearer. Agarment thus constructed for one girth and width aboutthe thighs andwaist is readily adjustable to a woma'nof larger pro- 7 portions; Inadjusting the garment ona wearer of increased g'irth' and Width aboutthe thighs and waist, no cutting, sewing or other tailoring isnecessary. The garment is. drawnonto'the legs as usual and when thethighs are reached, which are usually the widest portion of the body inits lower half, no danger of abnormal strain or tearing of the-inelasticfabric is pres]- ent. The garment will easily pass this wider widthwithout the need of tucks, pleats' or gathers, buttons and buttonholes,zippers, or similar devices to compensate for increased width." Thenecessary elasticity is furnished by the elastic area which at thesepoints curves over the surface of both thighs. The cloth along them to.fit the varying girthof each purchaser the line of jointure remainssmooth andtailored.

constructed could not be drawn over the thighs;

of a wearer because of the lack of elasticity in the inelastic portionsof the garment. In those instances of slight increase in thigh width,the garment if successfully pulled onto the wearer leaves a tightnessabout the thighs, resulting in great discomfort and necessitatingfurther cutting and tailoring. In a measure these dis-' advantages maybe met with-the use of pleats, tucks or :gathersfpr the other devicesabove specified to permitsome-groom for expansion-of the inelastic-area.Even when this is done the garment needs adjustment by further tailoringto producev some measureof neatnessin-attire.

Myinvention obviates all of these disadvantages. Further, it obviatesthe :need of aimindation girdle, giving the garment the neatness,smoothnessandi grace of appearance sought to by attained by the use of afoundation: girdle. Without, more, abdominal support is provided andcontraction ofoother body portions. The construction also. permits the.incorporationin the garment of an area braced by boneor spring steelstrips to provide further. abdominal support and contractionof bodyportions, leaving the garment. adjustable, neat, tailored, graceful inappearance and comfortable for the wearer.

Myinvention is also in the combination and arrangement of partsandadetails. of construction .as herein set fortnandlclaimed.

'I'o clearly explazin and describe, my invention to others, I have shownit applied to slacks and skirts although it may be as easily applied tootherarticles of attire such as trousers of all kinds, pajamas, tennisshorts and other items to produce all of the objects and advantageshereinabove enumerated. r

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which: I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one :form of my invention as it willappear upon the wearer.

Fig. .2 is a front" elevation ofia pair of slacks shown in Fig. l but onanenlarged scaie.

Fig. I3 is a side 'in' elevation of a :pair of slacks showing the frontand back.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a skirt constructed in accordance withmyinvention;

Fig. 5 is .a front elevation of a "pair of slacks showing afurther'modificationin the line of jointure. a

Fig. 6 is. a front elevation of a pair of slacks showing a furthermodification in the line of jointurenfi 'Tlis'a front, elevation ot apair of slacks showing .afurthe'r modification the line of jointure; 1

Fig; ;8is a. front elevation of a pair :of slacks showing a furthermodification in the line of jointure in which the elastic area isinterrupted by the inelastic fahric'which is carried to the top oftheslacks;

Eig. .19 is a front elevation :in perspective of a pair of slacksshowing theprovision rof asection opposite the abdomen and hinderregions, said parts slacks II are made of ordinary fabric I2, in-

elastic, save for the limited stretch permitted by the method of cut ofthe warp and fill of the cloth as known to the art, which fabriccomprises the 'inain portion of the garment, the balance of said garmentbeing made of elastic fabric L3. The elastic fabric is preferably madeof the type of cloth in which the threads are acombination 0t fabric andrubberstrands, to provide elasticity in'the resulting fabric. The

elasticity inthis fabricisin the directionof the width ofv the garment;in a horizontal plane, being substantially inelastic along its verticalaxis. This type of; .tabric is wellknown in the In Fig-.1 theelasti'csection 13 is out along lines to. produce an areaconfinerl within thelines-,M, i5, .llfi toprodufie a garment fitting gracefully and smoothlyover, thejabdomen and rear: regions and particularlythe hips and thighs.line ofcutlt curved along a line which rises toa higher plane than theextreme points ll, l8 assures, proper ad- J'nstability in the garment,to persons of wider girth and; proportions, permitting the garment to bepulled: on without tearing of the intermediate inelastic cloth. arealfland preserving the smoothness;'gra.ce and .neatness of the garment..N'o

pleats. gathers, tucks, buttona' buttonholes, hooks and? eyes, zippers,or similar devices are necessary.

Fajbric section 1251's cut so that its upper part presents a linefif'fillt corresponding to that of the line of cut, it of the elasticsection, so that; the

" twomay lee-joined by stitching along the line of jointure lfiztoform asingle garment, To add to the appearance of the garment, a beltisprovided..altho thisis not necessary since the garment 'is held inplace by the elastic region 13.

3,. by way of illustration, the line. of jointnre. of the back elasticsection is shown to follow a straight line. It may-be made curved,identically as the front, it being permissible to varyythe lines of theback and front as may be desired, without departing from theinventicndisclosed.

In Fig. i, the invention is shown in further modified form as applied toa skirt.

- In-Fig. 5 the line of jointure 16a is shown in a, varied form. AgaininFig; 6 itis shown as line lBb in further modified form. In Fig. '7there is shown a furthermodification lfic. In Figs. 8 and 9, the :linesof iointure ltd and [6e are broken in two sections. In all of thesemodifications the principle :is retained of having the lineof jointureso curved that an intermediate portion of the line is in a higher planethan that of the extreme points enclosing between .them an area ofinelastic fabricilarfl InF-ig: 8 the inelastic Clotharea i9. is carriedbetween the elasticv sections l3-;-i;3-tc the top of the garment. Theresultis identical;

In constructing the garment, the elastic and inelastic sections are.separately but, according to pattern :and the-two joined along the'lineof jointure by sewing. Of course it is possible to prepare the trouseror leg region and to knit integrally with this section, a section ofelastic fabric so as to produce a garment having the preferred line ofjointure. In the usual method of manufacture however the garment will bemade in the manner indicated out of two separate sections; the elastic,and inelastic sections then being joined as indicated.

The elastic section may be comprised of a single front and a single backportion, the two being sewed together. It may also be made of one piece,or the elastic portion may be comprised of four quarters to wit: a frontand back for the left side, and a front and back for the right side, thefour sections being sewed together to form one unit, this being thepreferred manner of construction.

The manner of constructing this type of garment is briefly as follows,by way of illustration reference being had to the slacks disclosed inFigs. 1, 2, 3. There is first cut out of inelastic cloth pursuant topattern a front and back portion for each of th legs of the slacks, inthe drawing the right trouser being designated as I la and the left asllb. The tops of these portions are cut so that they will follow line HiWhen appropriately joined. Then out of elastic fabric front and backportion are cut pursuant to pattern for the left and right sides, theright portionsbeing designated at 13c, and the left as [322. I One endof these portions are cut so that they will follow line 16 whenappropriately joined. The front portion of trouser Ila is then sewedonto the corresponding front portion of elastic l3a, the back portion oftrouser Ila being sewed onto the corresponding back portion of elasticBar. The left trouser issimilarlyponstructed. The slacks are thencompleted by sewing along seams a, a and b, b, to the top of thegarment, along the crotch region and along line 24 in front and back.The resulting garment has the desired line of jointure between elasticand inelastic fabric. From this description the manner of constructionof a skirt is obvious, as well as other types of garments which may bemade in accordance with my invention.

In Fig. 9 there is disclosed a modification of my invention in which thegarment is provided with sections 2| front and back. In constructingsaid sections inelastic fabric is cut to a size and shape correspondingto lines 0, d, e, f, and g as shown in Fig. 11. Onto one face of thesection there are affixed stays 22 either of bone or spring steel. Theseare confined upon the surface of the section by sewing strips of tape 23over them. The sections, thus completed are then made part of thegarment by sewing the same within the gar? ment, front and back asindicated by sewing along lines 0, d, e, ,1, and g as shown in Fig. 9.

In inserting sections 2| within the garment, in the modifications of myinvention shown in Figs. 9, l0 and 11, outerseams a and b are leftunsewed for a short distance commencing below points I! and I8 and alonglines [4, !4. In this condition of the garment sections 2|, front andback are readily fitted within the garment, against the corand b to thetop of the garment.

responding elastic sections, and are then stitched along lines 0, cl, e,f, g, to permanently affix the same to the garment. The bottom line ofsaid sections shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9 is left hanging free andunsewed. The garment is then completed by completing the sewing of seamsa The result is a garment which has the additional features of addedsupport and contraction for these portions of the body, to assure incertain instances, additional neatness and grace in the wearing ofladies apparel.

If desired the garment may be provided with an elastic section in thefront alone, or with the elastic section in the back alone, leaving thefront or back respectively of inelastic fabric, if it is desiredtoobtain the advantages of my invention on one side of the garment. Iprefer to use an elastic section, however, in back and front.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the details of constructionmay be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificingany of the advantages of this invention. Altho I have explained myinvention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood thatmy present disclosure has been made only by way of example.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A garment having a lower part of inelastic fabric to conceal the lowerlimbs of the wearer; an upper elastic band about the waist and thighregions of elasticity across the width of said garment, said elasticband being shaped widest at the thigh regions and of graduating narrowerESTHER CADOUS.

